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Aruba Orchestrator vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
ROI occurs by year four via savings in MPLS, Unity Edge Connect investments, and reduced internet expenses with Aruba Orchestrator.
Sentiment score
5.9
Fortinet FortiGate offers cost savings, enhanced productivity, and robust security, leading to high ROI and user satisfaction.
I have seen a return on investment and financial benefit from using Aruba Orchestrator.
Systems and support engineer at Lan to Wan
We don't see return on investment, but we love the technology, so we purchase because of the technology.
CTO, Co founder at IT-Guru
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
BDM Fortinet & BDM Teamlead at Exclusive Networks
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
Staff Infrastructure & Security Engineer at Mozn Systems
When investing in cybersecurity with Fortinet FortiGate 200, which costs more than $10,000, companies that are growing directly can expect ROI within 1.5 to 3 years.
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Aruba Orchestrator offers highly rated customer service, with efficient support, though expertise can be challenging for complex issues.
Sentiment score
6.5
Fortinet FortiGate's customer service is responsive and helpful but needs improvement in response times for high-priority issues.
The technical support of Aruba is very supportive and excellent.
Systems and support engineer at Lan to Wan
I would rate my experience with technical support from Aruba as eight out of ten.
Senior IT Officer at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
As a solution provider, when I encounter problems, I connect directly with Fortinet support, and they provide solutions within a very short time.
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Aruba Orchestrator is scalable, managing numerous devices efficiently, suitable for enterprises, but some suggest simpler scaling.
Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for scalable adaptability and seamless integration but requires hardware upgrades for high-performance needs.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
IT Manager at Daltons Limited
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
Cewa Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
General Surgery Specialist at Helwan University Cairo
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.7
Users report Aruba Orchestrator's enhanced stability, improved performance, and high satisfaction after switching from Cisco, with no significant issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiGate is highly rated for reliable stability and dependable uptime, even under heavy loads and high availability setups.
We had Cisco infrastructure in the past before we replaced it with Aruba, and our experience is much better with Aruba compared to Cisco—far, far better.
Senior IT Officer at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
Manager, Information Technology at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Orchestrator needs improved security, cost effectiveness, training, and user-friendly features, particularly in deployment and analytics.
Fortinet FortiGate users desire better third-party integration, intuitive interfaces, comprehensive support, and resolution of cost, stability, and performance issues.
The price should be improved as it is very high.
Systems and support engineer at Lan to Wan
It would be great if they would have a fully multi-tenant solution on their Orchestrator.
CTO, Co founder at IT-Guru
It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It is how quickly each of these companies adapts to that and brings in more value to the customer.
Principal Consultant at Epitome Infotech Solutions (P) Ltd
The main area for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate is the firmware versions, as we face uncertainties regarding upgrades and frequent bugs that require self-fixing of problems.
Senior Manager IT at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Orchestrator's pricing is mid-range and variable, rated between three and eight out of ten by users.
Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive pricing and good value with included features, though costs may be high for small businesses.
Regarding my experience with the pricing and setup costs, I find it expensive software compared to others.
Systems and support engineer at Lan to Wan
It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
IT Infrastructure Architect at Apotek 1
It is about 20% cheaper.
Network Security Engineer at TD SYNNEX
The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost.
Information Technology Infrastructure Section Head at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Orchestrator streamlines network management with advanced features, reducing operational costs and supporting hybrid environments.
Fortinet FortiGate offers integrated security, user-friendly management, and cost-effective protection, enhancing network performance and security seamlessly.
Integration capabilities with cloud and on-prem environments help my organization maintain a hybrid approach.
Systems and support engineer at Lan to Wan
The security features of Aruba Orchestrator are really good; I don't think there is any issue with security.
Senior IT Officer at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
It's really great that it connects today all the gateways and SD-WAN solution with the SASE and the zero trust network access.
CTO, Co founder at IT-Guru
They put in a thing called the FortiCookbook, which is very easy to read with real-life scenarios that make networking tasks like joining networks very straightforward.
IT Manager at Daltons Limited
The firewall and VPN features are the most valuable in protecting our customers' networks.
Sales & Support at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The most valuable feature is the deep inspection for traffic, which is capable of identifying zero-day attacks.
Consultant at SKYE AS
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Orchestrator
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiGate
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
594
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Aruba Orchestrator is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 8.7%, down from 19.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate8.7%
Aruba Orchestrator1.4%
Other89.9%
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2733462 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IT Officer at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
User interface boosts network management efficiency
I use Aruba Orchestrator's advanced analytics tools. Aruba Orchestrator's analytics tools are great tools to use. We were using Cisco, but when comparing it with Cisco, Aruba is far better. The security features of Aruba Orchestrator are really good; I don't think there is any issue with security. It's a good tool in terms of the security aspects. My experience with Aruba Orchestrator is that it's a great tool to use to manage the network. Its user interface is very user-friendly; in fact, the management interface is very user-friendly. It also gives a lot of troubleshooting ideas when we are trying to troubleshoot any issues with the wireless network or the wired network. It's a very useful tool. I can say that 100% the ROI from Aruba Orchestrator is really good because we have reduced the number of people needed. There is no need to have a team of people to manage the huge network, and with a relatively smaller number of resources, we are able to manage.
Yati Gharat - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technology Officer at Litmus
Unified security management has simplified data center protection and optimized branch connectivity
In my opinion, a potential area of improvement for Fortinet FortiGate is that while it has a pretty good dashboard, which is not an issue as such, when we talk about hardware parameters, sometimes the hardware gets pretty heated up. Given the amount of traffic going through it, that is fine. However, the heat of the hardware has to be looked into. Fortinet FortiGate firewall is good, but other products like the switching part and all that fabric, in handling very audio-video traffic, sometimes it struggles on the switching part, but on the routing part, it is fine. On the firewall part, it is good; there is no issue as such up till now. Additionally, I suggest that Fortinet can add software which is in a controlled way, particularly regarding AI and ML. It should not happen that the AI/ML takes certain decisions which are not beneficial for the organization. The control should remain with the team members who are responsible for configuring this firewall.
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business372
Midsize Enterprise138
Large Enterprise195
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?
Regarding my experience with the pricing and setup costs, I find it expensive software compared to others.
What needs improvement with Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?
It would be great if they would have a fully multi-tenant solution on their Orchestrator. Aruba SD-WAN solutions are always expensive. I don't think that it will change. It's an argument for many y...
What is your primary use case for Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?
The typical use case for Aruba Orchestrator is to manage the SD-WAN EdgeConnect.
Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
 

Also Known As

Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator, Unity Orchestrator
Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba Orchestrator vs. Fortinet FortiGate and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.